Tag: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Weekly writing check-in: the one with incriminating evidence

issue-004-cover-smallNot as much writing this week, but I’m not turning up my nose at ~4,000 words either. I also did the page layout for a +300 page book in Adobe InDesign. That … takes time.

I received my gift card and a very nice note from the women at WOW, Women on Writing for my honorable mention. Plus, I sent the story on its way again.

Issue #4 of Fantasy Scroll Magazine is out and it includes my story Incriminating Evidence (links below). So all in all? Not a bad week.

Writing Work:

  • Writing ~ 4,393 words
  • Page layout +300 pages

Submissions:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies 

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

The Maze: now in audio!

The Maze AudioNow in Audio!

The Maze: Three Tales of the Future is now available in audio format via Audible, and you can download the audio book from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.

The same narrator who performed The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet also narrated these stories. I think she did a fantastic job. She had a knack for knowing exactly how I wanted something read or where the emphasis in certain sentences should be. In short: she was amazing.

Click below to hear a sample:

Weekly writing check-in: the one with some print

More writing this week. It’s amazing how much more time one has to do this when one isn’t to-ing and fro-ing the smaller members of the household to/from horse camp. I’m at ~ 44,000 words with Pansy 2.0, which isn’t too bad.

The proof came for The Maze. I adore making these little books. It’s so much fun and good practice as well. I always think I’ll remember everything I need to do for an interior layout, but of course, I don’t.

My son Andrew read the premise for The Maze and declared it “really interesting.” My daughter said the stories sounded like Doctor Who episodes (and she means this in a good way). At long last, my kids endorse my writing!

Writing Work:

  • Pansy 2.0 ~ 8,848 words
  • Received and approved proof for The Maze
  • Listened to and selected a narrator for The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet and The Maze (can’t wait to talk more about this)

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

The MazeAvailable at Amazon. If you have a Prime or Kindle Unlimited account, you can borrow it for free.

Now in Print as well, and available as a Kindle Match Book. This means if you buy a print copy (you must do this first), you can get the Kindle version for 99 cents.

Weekly writing check-in: the one with a startling launch

So this week, I decided to simply drop another book out there, this time a collection of three short stories, run a free promotion, and wait to see what happened.

This is what happened:

#1 maze placement

It was a wild three days. Also, a gratifying three days. I decided to try KDP Select and going exclusive with Amazon (at least for 90 days). I know there are lots of opinions about that, but I wanted to try it–simply because I can. This is one of the things I love about being my own publishing company. I can try things, assess what works (or doesn’t), then try something else.

Also, The Maze will be available in print in a week or two and maybe even audio (shh … more on that as it develops).

I also logged nearly 8,000 words in Pansy (I should give this book a real title) this week and did the layout in InDesign for The Maze. Also, lots of driving to and from horse camp to drop off/pick up my daughter.

I’m going with productive. It was a productive week.

Writing Work:

  • Pansy 2.0 ~ 7,860 words
  • Print layout, etc. for The Maze

Submissions:

  • Keeping Time (audio/reprint market)

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

The MazeAvailable at Amazon. If you have a Prime or Kindle Unlimited account, you can borrow it for free.

For those of you who prefer print, I’ll let you know when that version is available for purchase.

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 50 the one with 100 submissions

Week 50! It might be the cold weather or the holidays, but things moved slowly this week, even as the year speeds to an end. But I got my writing in, and I also hit my “stretch” goal for the year of 100 submissions.

Also, my contributor copy of Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic arrived, and it is a thing of beauty. If you like science fiction and fantasy stories, and especially like coffee, be sure to pick up a copy, either in print or e-format.

Writing:

  • Simon the Cold ~ 1,300 words

Submissions:

  • What Little Remains
  • The Madness in King’s End
  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
  • The Price of Comfort and Joy (submission 100)

Rejections:

  • Doreen’s Muse

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • Ghost in the Coffee Machine in Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic, available from UFO Publishing, but also in e-book form for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.

Coming soon: Unidentified Funny Objects 2!

Photo-mainComing soon (as in September 2013) another volume of funny science fiction and fantasy stories will hit the shelves.

Want to know more? Head on over to the Kickstarter project page to see who is headlining this year’s anthology and all the bonuses for helping to support its launch.

If you’re a writer with a funny speculative fiction story, check out the guidelines here.

I was thrilled to be involved with the first anthology. Will I submit again? I might. I have a story I think might fit. At the moment, I can’t decide if it’s humorous or merely crazy. With my stories, it can be hard to tell.